WHOOPING CRANE RETURNED TO WISCONSIN REFUGE AFTER MIGRATION STOP IN OHIO: OH

Article Posted: May 06, 2003

WHOOPING CRANE RETURNED TO WISCONSIN REFUGE AFTER MIGRATION STOP IN OHIO

COLUMBUS, OH -- A well-photographed, juvenile whooping crane made anunexpected stop in Morgan County last Saturday on its return migration toWisconsin, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Thecrane was part of a flock receiving national media attention as part of areintroduction program that utilized an ultralight aircraft to assist itsfall migration to Florida. One of the cranes, tagged as Number 9, landed near Bristol, Ohio onSaturday and was transported to its final destination near Necedah NationalWildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin by biologists with the ODNR Division ofWildlife. Wildlife authorities decided to capture the crane and return it toWisconsin for fear that the bird would not find its way back unassisted. The whooping crane had spent the winter with other flock mates atthe Chassahowitzka Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Most of the other cranesfrom the 2002 ultralight-led migration arrived unassisted at the Wisconsinwildlife refuge March 13, completing a 13-day, 1,200-mile migration journey.

Crane Number 9 was east of the migration route anticipated bywildlife biologists and was observed near North Wilkesboro, North CarolinaApril 16, near Radford, Virginia April 29, and near Buckhannon, WestVirginia May 1, before stopping in Morgan County. The reintroduction project is being conducted by the Whooping CraneEastern Partnership, a group of non-profit organizations and governmentagencies including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The goal is toestablish a migratory flock of whooping cranes that breed in Wisconsin andmigrate to Florida for the winter.Ohioans can expect an increase in whooping crane sightings as theproject unfolds and a wild migratory population becomes established,according to wildlife biologists..com